Saudi Gazette

TWO HUNDRED young Saudis have been crowned Saudi Arabia's best robot builders at an event called “Future Makers” in Jeddah.

The inaugural event, which was held recently at Al Malakat hall, witnessed the attendance of Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar, deputy emir of Makkah region, Dr. Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman, governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, and a large number of parents.

The crowned students participated in the construction of more than 1,600 projects related to programming, design, robotics and electronics engineering aimed at building a new, globally competitive generation within the Saudi Innovation Program launched by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Dr. Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman noted that the "Future Makers" initiative emerged as a catalyst for innovators. “The initiative is sustainable to support the national economy to achieve Vision 2030 by fostering a culture of innovation and contributing to the dissemination of creative thinking, programming and innovation,” he said.

He added, "Saudi Arabia is innovating, and a national initiative that fosters innovation and stimulates creativity to be a sustainable extension of the national economy. It works to spread the culture of innovation in society, partnership and cooperation with local and international companies to establish innovation centers and contribute to empowering small and medium enterprises.”

The program has four major initiatives: "Future Makers, Innovation Centers, Innovation Fair and Innovation, and the National Ideas Platform," he said, while stressing that the synergy between government agencies and the private sector has given young people an opportunity to invest their creativity and encourage them to be entrepreneurs to institutions and companies with an innovative and creative nature.

Taher Al Belwai, founder and chief executive of Geeks Valley, expressed his pride in participating in the initiative of the “Future Makers” through the little ‘maker camp.’

He explained that the 200 students (100 male students and 100 female students) were divided into five groups, each with 20 children and 20 separate children, each with a total of 400 hours training.

At the end of the event, Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar, deputy emir of Makkah region, honored the 200 “Future Makers” and wished them well.